Start Again
by canyouimaginethis
Summary: Gabe is having a hard time after his break up with Lauren. He tells himself he will never fall for anyone ever again. But then a familiar face arrives at his doorstep.
1. Chapter 1

I OWN NOTHING! This story is completely made up! It was created for readers to enjoy!

Gabe Duncan was sitting on the green sofa in the Duncan's living room, his head in his hands. _I just can't believe it,_ he thought. _I just can't._ The kitchen door opens and Teddy walks into the living room.

"Hey Gabe, what's up? I thought you and Lauren were going to see Decapitation 6 today." Gabe looks up at his sister.

"We didn't go." he answers simply, turning his face away.

"Oh no. Did she cancel on you again? That's the fifth time in two weeks." Gabe doesn't answer. Teddy gets a little concerned. "Gabe?" Gabe couldn't contain his tears anymore. He let them flow down his cheeks.

"It's over." he finally says.

"What?"

"It's over. She broke up with me. Said I was just bait to make Austin jealous."

"Austin, the kid who was in love with me?"

"Yeah. And I fell for it. Now she and Austin are together. I'm such an idiot."

"Oh Gabe-"Teddy says, pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I know it hurts now, but it does get better."

"You're just saying that. Mom said the same thing to you after you broke up with Spencer, and you still didn't get out of bed for days."

"I know, but you eventually will get over it."

"You're starting to sound like mom." he jokes, then returns to being upset.

"See, that's better. You smiled. It's already getting easier. And then it gets easier to feel better. Don't worry. You will get over this. Lauren is the one with a loss. She gave up a great guy who I'm sure tons of other girls would love to have. There are so many other girls out there, and one of them will be lucky and will get to have you. One day you'll meet the right person-ooh!" Teddy picks up her video camera and turns it on.

"Hey Charlie, Teddy here with Gabe, who is having his first, real, heartbreak."

"Teddy, turn it off." Gabe groans, interrupting Teddy.

"No," she says, "Anyway, everyone goes through heartbreaks, though some are harder than others. Like Gabe's first, fake, heartbreak with Lauren when I gave him some bad advice. Some really bad advice. I mean, so bad that it nearly cost him his relationship. Back to the point, no matter how much it hurts now, it always gets better. Always remember that." she turns back to Gabe. "Gabe do you want to say-"

"Good Luck Charlie." he says quickly.

"What he said." Teddy finishes, pressing the off button. She puts the camera down and breathes out loudly. She looks back at Gabe. "Just remember, it always gets-"

"Yeah yeah whatever. The easier it gets the better it gets." he answers, rolling his eyes.

"That's right." she says, standing up. "Okay then." she walks out of the living room and downstairs to the basement.

Gabe's POV

I still just can't believe it. Lauren was great. She liked playing video games, watching TV, doing most of the stuff I like to do. It didn't seem like her when she told me the truth. She was so nice, unlike her evil grandmother, and my nemesis, Mrs. Dabney. Yeah, I know I wasn't always the nicest, compromising guy, but hey, aren't we all? I just can't believe it. I feel like a total loser. Maybe if I never got back together with her in the first place, maybe this wouldn't of happened. But at the time she was, uh, very special to me.

All she wanted to do was 'talk about our relationship' ,(up-grade her status to _in a relationship_ and she wanted to check with me about it, I later found out), but Teddy thought that was code-phrase for 'break up', and then Teddy gave me the wrong message, some bad advice, making me break up with her. I just didn't want get hurt, but look where I am now.

Then it only down fell from that. Little by little she would seeing me less, and I really didn't think much of it at the time. Can't come over to play video games because Mrs. Dabney needed her around the house, or couldn't come over and hang because she got a C+ on a test, or couldn't come over because she had to do her homework. Then I said, 'you can come over and we can work on homework together' and she said she needed to do it alone, and also because we weren't in the same Math Class. But we were in other subjects together, and I guessed she just needed some alone time. That's when the change started becoming a little more obvious. I asked to go to the Guys ask Girls Sundown Dance, and she said yes, but when I went to pick her up, she was a wreck, apparently got sick when she got home from school. She was the couch, still in her clothes, channel surfing. Tissues were lying everywhere, a box by the couch. I said I'd stay with her and she said no, go have fun at the dance. Now that I remember it, Austin wasn't at the dance either. After the dance, I stopped back at the Dabney's to give Lauren one of the orange flowers they gave out to the girls at the dance. Mrs. Dabney opened the door and said Lauren was fine, took the flower, and shut the door on my face.

I asked her to go roller skating with me, because she loved to roller skate, said yes, but at the last minute again said that Mrs. Dabney needed her help around the house. Then I asked her if she wanted to go after school to see Jake and the rest of the basketball team play against Denver Country Day Academy. She said no, she was busy, and walked away. It became more obvious. I asked her out four more times, one time to play video games, which she said yes to and came, another time to the park to hang out, which she declined, saying she had to do homework. The next time I asked her what she thought if I had PJ make us a nice dinner, and we could take it the park and have a moonlit picnic. She loved the idea. I told her to meet me at nine the next evening. I didn't get too fancied up, but I made myself look pretty presentable. I nice, clean white shirt, and new jeans. I went to the park with the big picnic basket, lanterns, and the blanket. I had it all set up. Nine o'clock came around, and she didn't show up. I decided to wait. She might just need some time to find me, even though I told her by the small, small, duck pond. Thirty minutes passed, and still no sign of her. I texted her, but got no reply. Then I called her, and I got sent to voicemail. I was really frustrated. I packed up the basket and went home, getting there around 11:30.

 _"How'd it go?" mom asked when I got home._

 _"She didn't show up." I replied._

 _"Oh Gabe. Why didn't she?" Dad asked._

 _"I don't know. She just blew me off." I said._ I ate the food at home then went to bed. _Maybe it was too much. Maybe she wasn't ready for it._ I thought. Either way, the next day at school, I asked her why she didn't come last night. She said, _Oh Gabe! I'm so sorry, I totally forgot!_ gave me a hug, and promised it would never happen ever again. The bell rang and she walked off to class. Then I asked her to see Decapitation 6 with me. She said yes. The next day-

"Gabe, oh honey, I'm so glad you're home." mom says, carrying in Toby and holding Charlie's hand. "Can you please watch Charlie and Toby? I have to get work, and I'm running late, dad will be home in fifteen minutes, can you watch them until then? I know you have your date but-"

"Okay mom, it's fine."

"Oh thanks. Bye!" she hands me Toby and runs out the door. Great. Now I'm stuck with these two. How can this day get any worse? Then the phone rang. I check the caller I-D. Oh no. I pick up the phone.

"Hello Mrs. Dabney."


	2. Chapter 2

Gabe's POV

* * *

Dad gets home 20 minutes late. He takes Charlie and Toby. I can finally be alone. I go up to my room, and look out the window. It has a clear view of the Dabney's house. I remember when I would sit up here and look at the house, wondering what Lauren was up to. Sometimes I'd see her in her room, reading a book, dancing, talking on the phone, now I could care less. She made a fool of me, and I hate her now. I should have remembered Teddy's advice. For someone who's been dumped as many times as her, she should know the drill. I just can't believe she dumped me for Austin, who's super weird, polite, and sophisticated. I just don't get it. The door opens a bit, and mom peaks her head in. That's right, she was trying to get a new job. I wonder how that went. BAD, most likely.

"Gabe, time for dinner." she says.

"I'm not that hungry." I say, turning back to the window. "I don't feel like eating." She opens the door farther and steps in.

"Gabe, honey, is something wrong? You been acting strange all day."

"What are you talking about?" I ask, not turning around to face her.

"Well, you willingly babysat Charlie and Toby, which you've never done before. Did something happen at your date?" There's the question.

"We didn't have it." I look at her, then turn around again.

"What? Why?"

"We-we, we broke up." I let it come out. Knowing my mom, she isn't just going to take that answer.

"What? Why did you do that? I thought everything was going great."

"Well, I guess she didn't like me as much as I thought she did. She said she was only using me to make Austin jealous."

"Austin? That kid who was in love with Teddy? The kid she pretended was her boyfriend?"

"Yeah. I mean, what does she see in him? "

"Well, he's polite, handsome, sophisticated-"

"Okay, I get it. There is a lot of stuff she could see in him. I'm just boring Gabe."

"Oh Gabe," mom sits down next to me. Great. A mom pep talk. "You're a great guy, and one day, a lucky girl will get to have you. Sure you might not be sophisticated, and polite, and extremely smart, and-"

"Not helping mom." I interrupt her. I am smart. I am the most smarterest person ever! Right?

"The point is, when you find the right girl, you'll know. And if you meet a few along the way who aren't her, you may have some heartbreaks, but in the end, you will find her. Now, how about we have some dinner and then I'm going to go over and give this Lauren girl a piece of my mind." And now Momma-bear comes out. "I'm going to tell her she dumped the wrong guy, she has no taste, and she better start running because Momma-Bear has come out of hibernation."

"Mom, it was my relationship, let me deal with it. Okay? I don't need my mom arrested for harassing and attacking my ex."

"Are you sure? Because, I took some karate classes at Southwest Denver Community Co-"

"I'm positive mom. Just please stay out of it."

"Okay then." She says, pulling me into a hug. Ooh, great. A mom hug. She eventually lets go. "Now, how about we get some dinner. I made Sloppy Joes."

"Fine. I'll be down in a few minutes." She nods and walks out. I pick up my phone and call Teddy, who's over at PJ's for dinner.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Hey, Teddy, it's Gabe, we got a problem. Momma-Bear's out of hibernation..."


	3. Chapter 3

Gabe's POV

* * *

The next day at school, I try to avoid Lauren and Austin as much as possible. Towards the end of the day though, I see them talking by her locker, then walking away holding hands. It makes me sick. That was my thing until 3 o'clock yesterday. I'm still not over her. I mean she was my first, long-term girlfriend, not my first, that was Emma Shelbie. She's also not the first person I've ever had a crush on. There was Kit, Jade, Emma, Heather (the hot one, not any of the other six), and Jo Keener. Jo was actually my first crush, my bully, my enemy, and my friend at the same time. We had a, complicated relationship. Anyway, she left Denver nearly two year ago. I made up lies to get Kit to like me by accident, and she never ended up talking to me again. Mom gave me some advice with Jade: Toby. She said babies made girls fall all over you. So, I pretended to be a very nice big brother, and in the end, it turned out she liked bad boys. I tried to tell that I was one, she could ask anyone, and then mom came in and ruined it. I learned to never do that again. Then there was Heather, and mom got involved again. She invited over Annoying Heather and I had to tell her that there were seven Heathers, and I liked Hot Heather. At the end, mom told her that Jake liked her, (Hot Jake as she exclaimed), and she ran out of the house. Emma was my first girlfriend, but we were only together for a few days. It was my first, short-term relationship. Her dad was extremely clingy to my dad, and when I told her that our dads weren't good friends, and that her dad was bugging my dad, she told me that we were done and left with her dad. Truthfully, I was unaffected by the break-up, and went on with life. Then Lauren came. We met when she asked my dad if he needed a baby-sitter. He immediately said no, but I stepped in and talked to her about it. I also asked her about boyfriends and stuff. She said she'd need to check with her grandmother about it and I said I was excited to meet her guardian. That's when Mrs. Dabney showed up, saying she was Lauren's grandmother, and that I was the one she told Lauren to stay away from: I was the Devil Child. After all that we had our first date, that didn't go very well, but we got together anyway. Then came the bad advice, our 'breakup', then we got back together, she dumped me for Austin, and here I am.

When I get home, I see Teddy sitting on the couch. She got a two week break from college because of Mom's birthday. I was kinda glad to see her, so I wasn't the only smart, older than age 5, kid in the house. She goes back to Yale tomorrow.

"Hi Gabe!" she says, patting a place on the couch next to her. "Come have a seat."

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture Teddy." I answer. She glares at me.

"Sit." she commands. I groan, drop my backpack on the floor, and plop down on the couch next to her.

"Gabe, how did your first day out of a relationship go?" she asks.

"Teddy, you're just as bad as mom!" I say, dragging my hands down my face. "I don't need a 'how to handle a breakup' lecture from you."

"A breakup lecture?" PJ asks, coming in the living room, wearing an apron and wearing his Kwikki Chikki hat. "Why?"

"PJ," Teddy says, "why are you wearing your old work hat? I thought you got rid of that."

"Well, I'm going to cook chicken, so I figured it would be more professional if I wore the hat." Typical PJ. Teddy rolls her eyes. "Anyway, why does Gabe need a breakup lecture? He's in a happy relationship with Lauren." _Oh my_ _gosh_! I throw my hands up in the air. _Really, why do you think I need a breakup lecture? I'M HAVING A BREAKUP! DUH!_ I decide to remain cool. There's nothing I can do about my dim-witted brother.

"Lauren and I broke up yesterday and Teddy thinks I need a ton of lectures on how to deal with it."

"You and Lauren broke up? That's terrible." he says, sitting down next to me on the couch. "Remember that time I broke up with Skylar?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I was heartbroken. I got over it slowly, but when I saw her again, I realized I was still crazy about her. And so we got back together-"

"PJ, how I this supposed to be helping?" I ask frustrated. If his story is supposed to make me feel better, it's not working.

"Anyway, the point is that if you make it easier, the better-"

"It gets. Yeah yeah, I know." I roll my eyes. "You guys, I'm not eleven anymore. I'm fine okay? Sure I may still be upset about Lauren dumping me for Austin, but-"

"Wait a minute," PJ interrupts me. Now what? "Wasn't Austin the kid who was-"

"In love with Teddy? Yes." I finish his question for him.

"No," PJ says, "The kid who's father owned the music store that Dad bought his bass from? And he got a discount because Austin was in love with Teddy?" Oh my-.

"Yes PJ." I answered, matter-of-factually.

"I knew it." he beamed.

"O-kay." Teddy says, holding out the 'oh' and 'kay' for a little while. "Gabe," she says, turning back to me, "what I think was the point of that is that PJ broke up with Skylar and I broke up with Spencer, but we got over it."

"Yeah but you and Spencer and PJ and Skylar both got back together. See? It's not the same. Lauren dumped me for another guy that she was dating when we got back together."

"I said the same thing about Spencer, but after a while-"

"No," I snapped, my voice rising. "I'm never going to let her or anyone else make me feel like a total loser again. I'm never going to love another person ever again."

"Now Gabe, I know it feels that way now, but after a little while-"

"NO." I bark. "I'm not getting back together with her. I don't feel sorry for her, or anyone else. She made her choice and I made mine, and I'm sticking with it-"

"Gabe," Teddy interrupts forcefully, "I know that you're hurting, and I know how you feel, but-"

"NO TEDDY!" I shout, standing up. "You don't get it! You don't know how I feel! No one does! Let me deal with this, it's my relationship!"

"Gabe, were only trying to help you-" Teddy begins, but I interrupt her.

"Stop trying to help! Just leave me alone!" I yell, my voice cracking, I run out of the living room, open the front door, and slam it shut behind me.

* * *

No One's POV

* * *

Amy and Bob come in with Toby and Charlie through the garage door in the kitchen. Just as they walk in, they hear screaming.

"Just leave me alone!" They hear Gabe scream, then they hear the front door open and slam shut. Amy gives Bob a look.

"What do you think that was about?" Bob asks Amy, who is taking off Charlie's backpack.

"I think it was about Gabe's breakup with Lauren." she answers, emptying Charlie's backpack. Toby is sitting on the floor and Charlie is playing a game of peek-a-boo with him.

"Whoa whoa whoa, they broke up? When did that happen?" Bob inquires.

"Honestly Bob, it's like you have no knowledge of what goes on in our children's lives." Amy inputs sarcastically. "They broke up yesterday. Lauren was just using Gabe as bait to make Austin jealous."

"What? I thought they were having a great relationship!"

"Well, she kept blowing him off, and then she revealed that she had started dating Austin and that she was just using Gabe as boy bait."

"Wasn't Austin the kid who was-"

"In love with Teddy? Yes Bob, he was."

"That's just ridiculous! Why did she do that to poor Gabe? He really liked her."

"I'll tell you that that girl really is Mrs. Dabney's granddaughter." Amy remarked. "She's got her evil blood and scheming soul." Bob nods.

* * *

Teddy was staring at the door, astounded. Gabe had never been that mad before. She couldn't help feeling responsible. She was only trying to help, but it seems like she only made the matter worse.

"Well," PJ chuckled, "that was interesting."

"PJ, not now." Teddy groaned. She lays back into the couch pillows. "I think I made Gabe feel even worse."

"It sure looked like you did." PJ chimed. Teddy stares at her brother. How can he find this funny? At that time, Bob, Amy, Charlie, and Toby enter the living room.

"What was all the commotion?" Amy asks, setting Toby down in from of a pile of toy blocks. Charlie joins him.

"I was trying to give Gabe some advice, and I think I just made things worse." Teddy replies.

"I tried too." PJ adds. "But he didn't like it." Teddy rolls her eyes.

"Well, Teddy, you have to remember that it was Gabe's relationship, and that he needs to deal with it himself." Amy explains.

"I know that, but I was only trying to help him." Teddy replies, trying to explain that it was a nice thing for her to do.

"Teddy, honey," Bob says, sitting down on the couch. "I know you were trying to help him feel better, but Gabe isn't the type of person who likes to be comforted and given advice by other people. He's likes to deal with things on his own, and maybe you should let him."

"Okay dad." Teddy agrees reluctantly.

"Okay, now, if we're done with that there's one more question that needs to be answered." Bob announces. Everyone looks at him, even Charlie and Toby. "PJ, why are you wearing your Kwikki Chikki hat?"


	4. Chapter 4

Gabe's POV

* * *

Teddy needs to mind her own business. Yeah, I know she might have been helping me by giving me advice, but still, it's my relationship, and I need to deal with it myself. I don't need Teddy. I don't need PJ. I don't need Momma-Bear. I don't need Dad. I don't need anyone's help. And I meant what I said: I won't fall for anyone ever again. I never going to have a romantic relationship ever again. I will never love or care for anyone ever again. No one will make a fool out of Gabe Duncan. One no one will ever again. The front door opens, but I don't look to see who it is. I don't care who it is.

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture. Go away." I say.

"I'm not her to give you a lecture." Dad replies, sitting down on the bench next to me. "I just want to talk about how the whole thing between you, Teddy, and PJ went down."

"They were trying to tell me how to get over my breakup, but none of their advice helped."

"They both went through several heartbreaks."

"I know that, but I don't like how they keep telling me advice on how to handle it. I can handle it."

"Well, they both had breakups, PJ broke up with Skylar and Teddy broke up with Spencer. And remember, Spencer cheated on Teddy, almost like how Lauren sort of cheated on you."

"But it's not the same." I complained. "None of you guys get it. PJ and Skylar got back together and so did Teddy and Spencer. And don't say that it'll just take time and maybe I might get back with Lauren, because I won't. And don't say 'Oh Gabe, just give it time...' because time won't solve anything."

"Gabe, what I want to say is that maybe you should find another relationship."

"No."

"It doesn't have to be a romantic relationship, just find a friend who you can talk it out with. PJ and Teddy were trying to do that. Maybe you should let them."

"But dad, they don't get it. None of you guys do. Lauren was cheating on me, with one of my rivals. She knows I can't stand Austin, I've even told her that. I just don't get why she did it. She seemed so nice, but turns out she's actually a-" I stop right there when Dad gives me the 'don't say that' look. "What I'm trying to say is, Teddy and PJ don't know how to help me, they don't understand. They think they do, but they don't. And it drives me crazy that every single time I step into a room with Teddy, or PJ, or Mom, or anyone, they keep giving me lectures and advice on how to deal with it. But I am dealing with it, and yeah, sure, I'm upset, but I can handle it myself, and they need to understand that. It wasn't their relationship; it was mine."

"Okay, now I know what's going on."

"What?"

"You basically being treated like a baby."

"EXACTLY! Finally, someone gets that! They're treating my like I'm a two year old in time-out."

"'Now, don't run with scissors again Gabey, ya hear?'" Dad mimics mom's voice. I laugh, because he does it so badly, it sounds like mom trying to sound like him. He laughs too, his loud laugh. I stand up.

"Thanks Dad."

"For what?"

"Understanding, and being a great dad." At that point I walk down the front steps and down the sidewalk.

* * *

"JAKE! GABE'S HERE!" Jake's mom screams up the stairs. I few seconds later I hear Jake's heavy foot steps on the stairs. He arrives at the door.

"Hey Gabe, what's up?" he asks.

"I was thinking that we should do something." His mom leaves the doorway and goes into the kitchen.

"Ooh, what? Tell me tell me tell me!" he pleads. He looks like and is acting like a little girl.

"I'm thinking that we should do something-"I place my hands together, "mischievous." I say, moving my fingers together like the bad guys do in the movies.

"You had me at mischievous." he says happily.

"Now, we just need to pick up some supplies..."

* * *

"So, are you in?" I ask. Everyone looks from one another.

"I thought you were too old, but okay." Teddy says.

"I'll do it." PJ says, "But on one condition: I get to cook a mixtures if disgusting slop together for us to use."

"Okay." I reply.

"YES!" PJ cheers.

"I'm in." Dad answers.

"Me too." Mom assents.

"Me three." Charlie agrees.

"I go!" Toby says, standing up in front of me.

"Yes Toby," I say, picking him up. "You go too. So we're all in. Let's go get revenge on Gabe's mean ex-girlfriend."

* * *

"Okay, I think everything's in place." I whisper. I may have said that I done pranking people, that I was too old for that, but who am I kidding? It's in my blood. I'll never be done pranking. And the Dabney's are about to learn that.

I knew where Lauren kept the spare house key, so I unlocked the door and we all silently crept in. Teddy and Mom TPed the living room and put hairspray on the wooden floor. PJ made a mixture of pancake batter, eggs, collard greens, peanut butter, moldy cottage cheese, and raw chicken for the bucket attached to the kitchen door. Charlie and Toby were in charge of kitchen, and did a great job. Dad put flypaper on all the door nobs. Finally, I did the front door. When someone opens the door, a bottle of ketchup, rotten eggs, onion juice, liquid glue, and fish, (Lauren hates the smell of fish), will spray all over the person. That will be topped off when the bottle is done spraying, chicken feathers will fall on the victim. Taped to the front door is a picture of a skull, the same skull on the Gabe Duncan sweatshirt that I wore when I pranked, which became my 'trademark logo.' On this sign it says: 'Take that Dabneys!'

I check my watch. Three o'clock a.m.

"Now Charlie!" I say. She rings the door bells twice.

"I need all the residents of this home to come outside for an inspection, now." Dad calls, making his voice very deep and sounding like Deputy Dooley. Teddy and Mom taught him how to do a perfect impression. He picks up Charlie and they both run into our yard. They lock her gate behind them. We go inside our house and watch. Mrs. Dabney's room light turns on. Then Lauren's turns on. I hear noises of crashing, and I know it's working. Then a scream, Mrs. Dabney's scream. (I know that scream anywhere. I've been pranking her since is was able to crawl, and I memorized her scream, her voice, her house, her daily routine, and the combination lock to get into her garage.) She must have found the bucket of PJ's concoction. So far, so good. There are more noises. Finally, I see Lauren open the front door. (YES! I made that especially for her! I can't believe that the person who it was meant for got it.) Her face is priceless as she screams when the bottle starts squirting. Mrs. Dabney comes to the door as well, covered in PJ's crap. The chicken feathers fall on both of them. Lauren starts spitting out feathers. The prank even better than I had hoped. It was amazing. Mrs. Dabney looks at the door and grabs the note, crumpling the piece of paper. She looks up into the sky.

"GABRIEL DUNCAN!" She bellows into the (once) silent night.


	5. Chapter 5

Gabe's POV

* * *

The next day at school, I'm putting some books in my locker when Lauren walks up to me, looking extremely mad, and smelling horrible.

"Whoa, Lauren, B-O Alert!" I joke, waving my hand in front of my nose.

"Stop it Gabriel." she snaps.

"Ooh, my full name? Someone is mad. But why?"

"Stop it. You know what you did. I thought you had promised my grandmother that you were done pranking."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what the hell I'm talking about Gabe. You pranked my grandmother and me last night. You're such a jerk. I can't believe I was ever in love with such an imbecile. I know Austin would never do that. Maybe that's why he's my boyfriend and not you. " I feel anger rising up.

"Leave Austin out of this, he has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me."

"Oh Austin. We had such a lovely time Sunday night..." Sunday night. The night she didn't show up for our picnic in the park.

"You were with Austin on Sunday?" I ask.

"Oh yes. We had a wonderful evening. We had dinner on the fancy Italian restaurant downtown. I was so romantic. We had a perfect view of the park. It was dark out, around nine o'clock."

"You did ditch me on Sunday. I knew it. You blew me off!"

"Oh, that's right, we had our picnic that night. Sorry Gabe."

"I can't believe you-"

"Really? Did you really think that after you dumped me that I would like you the same? Of course, when we first started, I actually liked you. Then I got bored. You're so boring. All you do is play video games. And you're not even that good. You're not very smart, or polite, or romantic; Austin had all those qualities. And the fact that you were arch-rivals with my grandmother really made it seem like I loved you, even after she told me all about you. It seemed like we were together against all odds, when really, I was interested in Austin. He liked me too, and using you to make him jealous was just too easy. You are the most gullible person ever. You are a simpleton that only a fool could actually love."

"No," I said, keeping my anger in 'cool' mode. I can't show that what she says really upsets me. "You're an asshole who totally got what she deserved last night."

"Oh, so you admit that you did all of that last night? I can't believe you did that to me! You're such a dick!"

"You're a bitch who cheats on guys and blows them off for the stupidest reasons ever!" Some people are looking at us. I mean, we still are in the school building.

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT GABRIEL DUNCAN!" she screams, making everyone look at us. "YOU'RE A NINCOMPOOP WHO CAN'T COME UP WITH GOOD DATES! YOU'RE A JACKASS WHO PRANKS PEOPLE AT THREE IN THE MORNING JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE UPSET WITH THEM AND YOU CAN"T HANDLE THINGS LIKE A MAN!"

"YOU'RE A BASTARD WHO CHEATS AND USES GUYS TO MAKE THE OTHER PERSON JEALOUS! YOU'RE A HORRIBLE PERSON WHO DOESN'T GET HOW MUCH SOMEONE CAN CARE FOR YOU. YOU'RE TOO BUSY TO KNOW THAT I WOULD GET TEASED BECAUSE OF YOU. THAT I WOULD LOSE MY COOL AND NOT BE THE PERSON I USED TO BE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE LIKE YOU COULD EVER LOVE SOME BECAUSE YOU'RE CRUEL!"

"WELL, YOU'RE A COLD, HEARTLESS GUY WHO NO PERSON IN THEIR RIGHT MIND COULD EVER LOVE. I'VE HEARD WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT YOU, AND THAT EVERYONE HATES YOU. I DON'T THINK EVEN YOUR FAMILY COULD ACTUALLY WANT SOMEONE LIKE YOU. YOU ALWAYS GET THEM INTO TROUBLE! I HATE YOU!"

"I HATE YOU!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WE WERE EVER DATING!"

"ME NEITHER!"

"I DESPISE YOU GABRIEL DUNCAN!" With that she walks away.

Even though I'm furious at her, and we're no longer together, I still have feelings for her, and her words hurt.

* * *

Teddy's POV

* * *

I'm sitting on couch. I just finished packing to go back to Yale tonight. I'm eating grapes and just relaxing. Mom is shopping with Toby, Charlie's getting picked up by dad at pre-school, and Gabe is taking the bus. I have the place to myself, and it's actually quiet. Suddenly, the front door slams open and shut and Gabe comes in, his jeans muddy, and tears pouring out of his eyes.

"Gabe!" I cry. "Why are you all dirty? Why are you crying? Come here!"

"Leave me alone!" Gabe yells, flinging his backpack to the floor. He runs upstairs and I hear his slam shut. Something is wrong.

* * *

Gabe's POV

* * *

I walked home from school, and people teased me. Especially Austin. After Lauren and I had our fight, people started picking on me. I've been bullied before, but this hurts more than before, which is weird. When I was walking home, I saw Lauren and Austin. I tried to avoid them, but they came to me, called me names, told me stuff, and started kissing right in front of me. And it hurt to see them. Even after a few days, I still have feelings for Lauren. And when she treats me and acts like I'm a piece of crap, it bothers and upsets me. I walked pass the two and I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks. I shouldn't be crying, but I am.

I turned my phone onto vibrate, because I can't hear it when it vibrates, and I've been getting texts from people all over the school. I don't feel like facing them. I plopped down on my bed and let the tears come out. The breakup is changing me, and I don't like it. At least tomorrow is Saturday, so I don't have to face people at school. I'm sure something big will happen and then I'll become old news. And hope that happens soon.

* * *

 **I'm sorry about the curse words, but it seemed like they would make it seem more dramatic that the words would hurt the other person more efficiently than the other words I could have used in place of them. Sorry, please don't hate!**


	6. Chapter 6

No One's POV

* * *

The doorbell rings. Bob walks over and opens the door. He sees a familiar face, but can't remember their name.

"Can you tell Gabe I want to talk to him?" He closed the door, so no bugs would get in the house. Amy hated bugs.

"Sure." he says. It had been over a week since Gabe had had his breakup with Lauren. It was Friday, around eight o'clock. He walked over to the basement stairs where Gabe was. Gabe was sitting on the couch. He was thinking, a math textbook in his lap. But he wasn't thinking about Math, he was thinking about Lauren, and what she said to him that day. She had been really mean. And over the past week he had seen a different side of Lauren. Not the kind, sweet girl that most people knew, but the mean and cruel granddaughter of the witch next door. Then he heard footsteps coming down the basement stairs. It was his father.

"Gabe, someone is here to see you." he says. Gabe sighs, placing his math book down on the couch and stands up, following his dad up the stairs. "The door's open." he tells Gabe, and walks into the kitchen. Gabe rolls his eyes and goes to the door, opening it. He recognizes the visitor, and he can't believe his eyes.

* * *

Gabe's POV

* * *

"Jo?" I ask dumbfounded.

"Hey Stupid." she smirks. I step out and close the door. I stare at her. She's changed. I mean, the last time I saw her was when we were twelve, and now were fifteen. She's taller, her hair is longer and lighter, kind of a blonde color, but not quite. I hate to admit it, but she's gorgeous. I feel like I've been staring too long. I clear my throat.

"You look, uh, different."

"You too." This is awkward.

"So, um, I thought you moved to Arizona."

"Yeah, well, uh, my dad got fired from his job, and there was not much work there, so we came back."

"That answers the question."

"Yeah, it does."

"So, are you going to be going to South High now? To finish the school year, I mean."

"Yeah."

"Well, uh, it was good to see you, I guess."

"You too, kinda."

"Later Jo."

"Later Stupid."

* * *

Jo's POV

* * *

 **A few days ago...**

"Jo, we have to tell you something." Mom calls. I walk down the stairs to the kitchen to where my parents are. They're standing, their faces solemn.

"Jo, I got fired today," my dad says, "and since there aren't many jobs out here, we've decided to move back to Denver."

"What?" I ask. I made some new friends here, and now I'm leaving. But, there is also a 'friend' in Denver, who I have missed a lot. "When are we leaving?"

"Thursday."

"Thursday?" I ask. That's two days from now. "How are we going to get all packed up by then?"

"It'll be easy Jo." Mom says. "We don't have a lot of stuff, and most of our stuff still isn't unpacked. We start packing tonight. Tomorrow is your last day of school here. I know it'll be hard to move again, but we're moving back to Denver, you know Denver. And you have some friends there. You okay Jo?"

"Yeah." I answer.

"Well then, start packing."

* * *

"You're moving?" Kayla, my friend asks.

"Yeah. We're leaving tomorrow." I answer.

"How long have you known?" Kris asks.

"Honestly, I just found out last night."

"Whoa." Meghan gasps. "I guess this is goodbye then."

"Yeah." The four of us fist-bump, hug, and part. That was hard, but I know that it could have been worse.

* * *

The moving truck pulls up early Thursday morning. We pack up quickly and leave. The longer I stay the harder it will be. We start driving. Mom says that we'll be there Friday morning. I watch as we leave the street, then the neighborhood, then the city. After a few hours we stop for lunch, then hit the road again. We keep driving. My mom makes us stop at the four corners, for some pictures for her scrap book. After she gets pictures of my dad, herself, me, and the view, we get going again. Night falls, and my mom starts driving. I fall asleep after 11:30, looking at the clear view of the stars. I wake up around eight to find us at the city we left two years ago. It's nice to see Denver again. We drive past my old school, Lincoln Elementary, and past the high schools. We finally arrive at our home, which turns out to be our old one. No one bought it, which is weird. I get out of the car and stretch my legs. I'm hungry for some breakfast. We start unpacking the car and the truck, putting all the furniture where it sat two years ago. I bring up my small box of picture frames and look at them. A picture of Kris, Meghan, Kris, Kayla, and me outside the ice-rink. We all enjoyed ice-skating. One of my family. I pull out a small, wooden one, covered in a light layer of dust. A picture of me and Gabe, after the horrible cotillion class. They took a couples picture afterwards. We were so cute and tiny, and so fancied up. I had a slight crush on him, but he was just my childhood crush, I'm totally over him now. I think.

* * *

At around seven-thirty I can't wait any longer. I have to go see Gabe.

"Mom, can I go visit one of my old, uh, friends?"

"Sure. Be back by nine though."

"Okay." I grab my set of house keys, my phone, and a sweater. I walk out the door and down the familiar street, remembering how to get to the Duncan's. I finally see the yellow bug truck. I can't believe they still have that thing. I walk up the front steps and ring the doorbell. Mr. Duncan opens it.

"Can you tell Gabe I need to speak with him?" I ask.

"Uh, sure, give me a minute." he replies. He doesn't even remember me. Oh well. He closes the door and I stand out there, wondering what Gabe will be like. A person can change a lot in two years. Finally the door opens again, and Gabe's appears. His eyes widen and his mouth opens.

"Jo?"

* * *

"Hey Stupid." I smirk. He steps outside and closes the door. I look him over. He's taller, his hair's longer and darker, but man is he handsome. And his voice is deeper and so, ( how can I say this?) sexy-ish sounding. It's kinda manly-ish. He's actually pretty cute. I shake my head. _STOP THAT JO!_ Gabe clears his throat.

"You look, uh, different." he says.

"You too." This is weird. I've never had a conversation this awkward with him.

"So, um, I thought you moved to Arizona."

"Yeah, well, uh, my dad got fired from his job, and there was not much work there, so we came back." I thought he would ask that question, but the answer didn't come out as smoothly as I planned it.

"That answers the question." he states.

"Yeah, it does." Awkward again.

"So, are you going to be going to South High now? To finish the school year, I mean." He inquired.

"Yeah." Mom told me I was. It will be weird going to a new school this late in the year, but 'I need education' mom says. Frankly, I could care less.

"Well, uh, it was good to see you, I guess." He went on.

"You too, kinda." I smile.

"Later Jo." he says.

"Later Stupid." I joke. He nods and walks into his house.I blow out of my mouth and start to walk down the front stairs. I walk home, my mind swirling with thoughts. Gabe had changed. And I don't know if even likes me anymore. As a friend I mean. I don't care if he likes me in a romantic way. Or maybe I do.

I reach my new/old home, unlock the door, and walk in. I place my set keys on the hook. My parents are in the living room watching their favorite TV series: _The Walking Dead_.

"You're home." Dad says, not looking up from the TV.

"Yeah."

"Did you have a good time? Did you see your friend?" Mom asks.

"Yeah. It was nice to see Stupid again."

"Stupid?"

"Never mind. It was just good to see an old friend again." There's a scream from the television. "Anyway, I'm pretty tired. I'm going to go to bed now. Night."

"Good night sweetie." I hike up the stairs to my room. I thought I was going to have to sleep on the floor, but they got my bed set up. Good, I didn't really want to sleep on the floor. I undress, comb my hair, brush my teeth, and climb into bed. I lay back into my pillow. Remember when I said I over Gabe?

I'm Totally Not.


	7. Chapter 7

Gabe's POV

* * *

I can't stop thinking about Jo. When she moved I thought I'd never see her again. This is like something in the movies: a friend moves away and then one day returns and all that happy-ending crap. I don't believe in happy endings. They only exist in fairy tales. Fairy tales are for little kids. It's cool to have Jo back, but I wonder if she's still the same Jo from when we were, uh, friends but enemies. Probably not. I don't think I'm the same person either. I know I've changed. For better or for worse, I don't know, but I know I've changed. I wonder if she still has the crush on me. Again, probably not. It's been nearly three years, and we were just twelve. It was a stupid childhood crush-right? I'm totally over her. I had a girlfriend, who wasn't her, and I was fine, sort of. But still, childhood crush, nothing's left of it-I think. Man, why do crushes have to be so difficult?

* * *

It's Monday morning, and I decided to wait for Jo outside of school. I just don't want her to go in alone. Sure, she could probably handle herself, but it seemed like a nice thing to do for an old friend-enemy person. Nice things? Being nice? Caring about other people? This breakup is screwing up my brain! UGH! Then I see her, exiting her mom's car, a few feet away. She slams the car door and starts to walk up the steps. She sees me and walks up to me.

"What are you doing Stupid?" she asks, smiling.

"Uh-"

"You weren't waiting for me, were you?"

"Well, uh-"

"You've gone soft. What happened to you?" she teases.

"Uh, well uh, I, uh-" The school bell rings. She walks past me, but I just stand there.

"Are you going to go inside, Stupid, or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" She stops, turns around and asks. I turn around and follow her up the stairs.

* * *

Jo's POV

* * *

We walk into school, walking side by side. Being a new kid nearly at the end of the year is weird. It's probably pretty rare. I feel some people's eyes on me. I see a few people I recognize, Kit, Heather #6, a few others, and a ton of strangers. There's one girl with super curly brown hair who is really pretty. Her skin's tan and she's standing next to, Austin?

"Hey Stupid, is that Austin?" I ask. He looks at me and I jerk my head towards the blonde boy. Gabe's face goes hard.

"Yeah."

"Who's the girl next to him?" His face gets harder.

"Her name's Lauren Dabney."

"Like your old lady neighbor?"

"She's her granddaughter." Sadness flickers in his eyes, then hate.

"Oh." I say. "Is Lauren like her?"

"Exactly the same." he says flatly. "Stay away from her, she seems nice, but really she's one of the biggest backstabbers I know."

"How would you know?"

"I don't want to talk about it." We reach the office. A woman looks up at us.

"How may I help you?" she asks politely.

"Uh, hi, my name's Joanna Keener, I'm new here."

"Oh, okay. Here's your locker number and combo, schedule, and, if you need any help, ask someone."

"Uh, okay, thanks." I say, grabbing the papers. I walk out of the office. Gabe is outside.

"You're waiting for me again Stupid?"

"Yeah, problem?"

"Like I said, you've gone soft." I smirk. He smiles. "Anyway, where is locker number 1462?"

"Around the corner, by History Class 112." He walks forward and I follow him. We turn the corner and I look for my locker. I find it and look at the combo.

20-10-20. So simple. I open it and it smells like old gym socks. I make a face. "Ah, you got Jimmy's old locker. Congrats."

"Why does it smell so bad?"

"Because he left his wool socks in it the whole summer, and the janitor found them about two weeks ago."

"Two weeks ago? You're kidding, right Stupid?"

"Nope." he smiles and I punch him in the arm. "Ow, I see you still punch and kick."

"I've gotten better at it too. Want me to show you?"

"No thanks." he goes across the hallway to locker 1151. His locker. I unpack my things and grab what I need for Math, History, French, and my other morning classes. I finish and look at the clock. 8:05. My first class starts at 8:15.

"Hey Gabe, where is Math 215?"

"That's at the end of the hall." he slams his locker and walks with me. We enter the classroom and take our seats. I sit in the back of the class, Gabe a few desks up from me. The teacher comes in and starts teaching a lesson on Rational numbers. Really? I could do that in my sleep! I barely pay attention. The bell rings and I write down my homework, then walk up to Gabe's desk.

"Where to next Stupid? I got History." The same routine goes for all the classes. Too simple or I just don't care. I packed ten bucks for lunch, and I get a few items. A sandwich, chips, an apple, other stuff. I sit with Gabe and, an even stockier, taller, dumber, and redheaded, Jake.

"Dude! That girl looks sssoooo much like Jo Keener!" Jake says.

"That's because it is Jo." Gabe explains.

"Whoa..." Jake gawked. Yep. Still as dumb as ever. I never really liked Jake. Either way, I still sit down for lunch.

* * *

The rest of the day is basically the same, I know the thing they're teaching, or I just don't care. When Science comes, the teacher, Mr. Gran, assigns us lab partners.

"Jake and Austin, Lauren and Kit, Emma and Heather, Gabe and Jo, Luke and-"I can't believe it. Why am I always paired up with him? This is exactly like fourth grade. We got paired together to do a project together on Hawaii, the most boring of all the 50 states. I mean, how lame is that? We could have had New York, or California, or, to Gabe's interest, Nebraska. I can't believe we're paired up together again.

"You will each do a project to enter in the school's annual fake Science Fair. The winner gets $20. I want effort from all of you, do not come in with a horrible looking board and a dumb project." Another project? UGH! The last time was torture, hanging out with my 10 year-old crush, but now having to do a project with an older, more mature, handsomer, and dreamier version of my crush? OH MAN! Wait, did I really just think that? Come on Jo! Get it together! After listening to Mr. Gran drone on about how important this will be, the bell finally rings. Thank goodness that was the last class of the day. I walk with Gabe to my locker. I open it and leans on the locker next to me.

"Can you believe we're paired up for another project?" He asks me.

"No. It's-"

"Just like fourth grade." we say in sync. We laugh, then I punch him.

"You should come over tomorrow so we can talk about our topic."

"Okay." Then I feel a shadow over me. I turn around and see that I'm looking into the face of Lauren Dabney, the girl from earlier. She's even more beautiful up close. She smiles.

"Why hello, uh, whatever your name is-"

"Joanna Keener." I answer. "But people call me Jo."

"Oh, okay Joanna, anyway, I'm Lauren Dabney."

"Kay."

She looks at Gabe. "So, you're hitting on the new girl huh?"

"I'm not hitting on Jo. And we know each other." he replies.

"Oh really, because seeing her face on Instagram or Facebook or social media isn't knowing someone."

"She went to Lincoln with me. She moved away two years ago. She came back to Denver last week." Gabe explains.

"Oh, well isn't that nice? Were you friends? More than friends?" she pried, trying to know information.

"Well actually, I was his, uh, bully." I answer nervously. "But we were also friends. We had a complicated relationship."

"Why, isn't that, er, lovely?" she commented. She turns back to Gabe. "And Gabriel, just to let you know, Austin wrote a song about me. A love song. It's probably pretty amazing. And isn't that romantic?"

"Uh-" he starts, but she interrupts him.

"It is. And you thought that play Die Zombies Die VI was romantic." she turns to her friends, and giggled. "What an idiot." she turns back to Gabe. "You probably shouldn't have been dating yet, you weren't mature enough. And don't try anytime soon, it's not like anyone is going to like you for a while since I-" she stops.

"What?" Gabe asks.

"Well, I guess it's better for you to know." She takes out her bejeweled phone and fiddles with him. She hands the phone to him. He looks and his eyes widen. I peer at it and see a picture of him holding a stuffed monkey, sleeping on the couch.

"How did you get this picture?" Gabe hisses.

"One day I came over and found you on the couch asleep. I decided to take a pic of it. Your mom thought it was so cute, and so does-" she takes back her phone, "354-355 of my friends on Instagram, which is mostly people from school." She turns it off and shoves it back into her red and white, paisley, backpack. She smiles. "See you later Gabriel," Lauren says, rolling her eyes. "And Joanna, stay away from him, you might have been 'friends' in the past, but believe me, he's the biggest imbecile in South High." she warns me. "It was nice meeting you." she smiles, her mood changing completely. "Bye Joanna!" she walks off down the hall with her friends.

"It's Jo!" I call after her, but she isn't listening. I turn to Gabe. "Anything you want to tell me about not being 'romantic' enough?"

"We dated for a little while, but I really don't want to talk about it."

"Okay Stupid." We walk through the halls, out the door, and stand on the sidewalk outside. My mom pulls up. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow Stupid."

"Later Jo."

* * *

 **Sorry guys for the late update. School just started and between sports practice and homework I didn't get a lot of time to write. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**


	8. Chapter 8

Gabe's POV

* * *

Today was actually a pretty good school day. Except for the embarrassing photo that Lauren posted. That was bad. And I can't believe Jo and I are paired up for a project. Talk about coincidences. I have to say, it will give us some time to catch up though. That will be cool. I go down to the basement to play video games.

* * *

Amy's POV

* * *

When Gabe comes home from school, I'm surprised that he seems to be in a good mood. After all the drama that kid was having last week, it seems like he is finally over the whole breakup thing.

Note to self: Write about this on Mommy blog, it will make a great story. Maybe Phil will have me tell it on Good Morning Denver.

Anyway, I'm glad he's finally over it. I thought that girl was a good influence on him, but I also thought the same thing about Austin. Those two make a perfect couple. Bob was assigned to pick up Charlie and Toby, since I was busy looking for another job, along with my job on Good Morning Denver. Once again, I failed. Apparently, you can't be a qualified teacher if you went to Southwest Denver Community College. Sure, the college may have been more of an activity college, but I don't get how I'm not qualified to work at the day care as a 'teacher.' I have five kids! I know more about children then those ladies will ever know! I'm cooking my famous meatloaf for dinner. I don't think it's so bad. I'm no PJ, but I can still cook. Bob comes through the kitchen door, holding Charlie's hand and carrying Toby.

"Hey Amy," he says, before looking down at the glob that after it's cooked will be the meatloaf, "What are you making?"

"Meatloaf." I answer. I look down at the glob of meat. He makes a face, thinking that I don't see him. Typical Bob.

"That's...great honey. Yay..." he exclaims, enthusiastically. Come on, I'm not that bad of a cook, give me some credit!

"So, Gabe came in actually looking happy today." I say, continuing our conversation.

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you think anything happened to him at school?"

"Well, I know on Friday that a girl, I couldn't remember her name, but she came over, and after Gabe talked to her, he seemed cheered up."

"Which girl?" I ask suspiciously.

"I already told you, I can't remember her name."

"Well, what did she look like?"

"She was a little bit shorter than Gabe, had blonde-brownish hair, I think. She dressed kind of boyish. I can't remember where I have seen her before."

"Well, there was Kit-"

"It wasn't Kit."

"There was Emma-"

"I remember Emma. It was definitely not her."

"There was Jade and Heather-"

"I don't think I met either of them. She came over a couple of times..."

"Was she girly or wearing anything that caught your eye?"

"No, not really..."

"Maybe you just saw her picture or something. Like on the school web page, or at an open house or maybe the talent show? Anything helping you out Bob?"

"It wasn't anything like that no-" My phone buzzes. I look at it. It's from Teddy. I click on it.

"Hey Mom look! I found one dance I could actually do, The Conga Line!" she says. Then she gets into a line with a group of people, walking around the room. I have to admit, she still can't dance, but at least she looks slightly normal doing The Conga.

"Hey Bob, look at this-" I say handing him the phone. "Teddy is dancing, sort of."

"Dancing! That's it!" Bob exclaims suddenly. "It was the girl who took him to that dancing thing...what was her name?"

"What dancing thing?"

"The class with the manners, uh, Jo! I think it was Jo!"

"Jo Keener was here on Friday?" I ask him. That girl was a huge bully on my baby boy.

"Yes."

"And he didn't come in with a black eye or anything?"

"No."

"Wasn't she the girl who moved to Arizona?"

"I think so."

"Great. What is she doing back?"

* * *

Gabe's POV

* * *

I play video games for an hour before mom comes down. She sits down on the couch next to me.

"Hello Gabe." she says weirdly. Oh no.

"What did you do?" I ask.

"Nothing, nothing, what makes you think I did something? Why do you always assume that? You can't judge a woman by her looks, well, unless it's me because I'm so gorgeous..."she looks off into the distance.

"What is it?" I ask again.

"Fine." she says. "I wanted to write about me on my Mommy blog." she admits.

"Why?"

"So people will see how much suffering you're going through, and what a good mother I am cheering you up and being protective of my son." she explains, being dramatic.

"No, Mom, seriously, no."

"But Gabey-"

"No. It'll be all over the internet! I don't want to look like a 'mommy's boy' in front of my friends. It'll be so embarrassing. You don't know what embarrassing feels like. You do stupid and embarrassing things all the time and you don't even acknowledge it. And you're so gullible."

"WHAT? I never do anything stupid or embarrassing things! I'm not gullible, I'm a mature, responsible woman who takes care of her children and-"

"Sure, sure. You are so right mom. And may I say, you're hair looks lovely today." I lie.

"You really think so?" she asks me with interest. "I decided that I should use curlers and hot air plus this new holding hair spray"-she drones on. SO gullible.

"AMY! THE MEATLOAF!" Dad calls from upstairs. Mom stops talking about hair.

"I'M COMING!" she calls back. "We'll talk later sweetie." she pats me on the head and runs up the stairs. I go back to my game and play for about five minutes until my phone goes off. Jake is calling.

"Hey Gabe, what's up?" He asks.

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay." Silence.

"Uh, why did you call me?" I finally ask him, breaking the silence.

"No reason. i just wanted to see if anything was happening with you."

"Oh, okay then."

"Bye."

"Bye..." I hang up. That was...interesting.

"GABE, DINNER'S READY!" Mom calls from upstairs. I groan. Tonight for dinner is Mom's world famous gag meatloaf. Great...

* * *

 **Okay, yes, this chapter was not the best. I have lots to do and I'm sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoy!**


	9. Chapter 9

Gabe's POV

* * *

Jo and I decided on a topic for our project today. We have two weeks to finish it. Jo said we should do it here, since her family is still unpacking things for the house. I agreed. And besides, we'd have more fun here anyway.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

After school, Jo came over with supplies. We had made an agreement:

Jo was in charge of art supplies: markers, tape, coloring utensils, glue, etc.

I was in charge of getting the board, border, paper, poster board, etc. Basically I had board stuff and she had creative stuff.

Anyway, we sat down at the couch and began working.

"Okay, I got a white board and three different colored borders: blue, green, and red. Which do you think?" I hold up the borders one by one to show her.

"Hmm..." she picks up the green one. "I think green would be best."

"Alright." We begin gluing down the border and the title.

"How about this," Jo says, "I do the paper while you do the abstract. That way we both do a paper and it's fair."

"Sounds good."

* * *

For the next week, Jo comes over after school to work on the project. It's Friday, and we are almost finished with our project. But I made a mistake. Jo wanted the abstract and paper done today so we could revise them, and I forgot. She'll beat me into a pulp if she finds out. I hope she forgets to ask. The door bell rings. I open the door and it's Jo.

"Hey Stupid." she says. I can't believe she still calls me that.

"Hey Jo." she comes inside, putting down her backpack. For the next two hours everything's fine. Jo stays for dinner since her parents were going out. After that, we work some more on the project. Everything was fine until:

"Hey Stupid, do you want to check over the papers now?" Dang it.

"Uh, about that, uh, I-" she gives me a look.

"What Stupid?"

"I forgot about it."

"You what?" she is getting mad. "The report is is due Monday. What made you forget about it?"

"I was busy okay? I don't just sit around all day."

"Gabe, I can't believe you, how could you forget?"

"It was a simple mistake Jo, I'm sorry-"

"I'm so mad Stupid. You're so STUPID, Stupid!"

"Jo, I-" She punches me in the arm.

"I can't believe you!"

* * *

No One's POV

* * *

The two keep on fighting.

"It was a mistake and I'm sorry! How many times do I have to say that?"

"The report's due MONDAY!"

"I'll write it! I'll write it okay?"

"You should have already written it!"

"Kiss me." Gabe blurts out.

"What?" Jo stops yelling.

"Yeah." he answers.

"You got it."

* * *

Gabe's POV

* * *

It all happened so fast. We were fighting, and she's so cute when she's mad. And I accidentally blurted out:

"Kiss me." And now we're kissing. I just realized, this is my first kiss. I'm actually kind of enjoying it. Wait-what am I saying? We break apart. Jo's eyes open. Then we both scream.

"I gotta go." Jo says hurriedly, grabbing her bag. She runs out the door.

* * *

Jo's POV

* * *

"Kiss me." I don't know how long I had been hoping to hear those words. His lips were on mine, and I was running my fingers through his hair. When we break apart, we both screamed. I hurriedly left the Duncan's house. I shut the door, ran down the front steps, and run all the way to my house. I unlock the door and run straight up to my room. After the door closes, I flop down on my bed, thinking while staring up at the ceiling.

I just had my first kiss with my first crush Gabe Duncan. I can't stop smiling.

He asked me to kiss him. He did, not me.

And I kissed back.

I can't believe this.


	10. Chapter 10

Gabe's POV

* * *

The front door slams shut. I am gawking at the front door, amazed at what just happened.

 _"Kiss me." I blurted out._

 _"What?" Jo stopped yelling._

 _"You heard me."_

 _"You got it." Our lips came together and it was amazing. Her fingers were running through my hair. I didn't know how long we were kissing for. We broke apart. As soon as we realized what we had done, we both screamed and she ran out the front door._

And now I'm standing here, looking like an idiot. I'm still staring at the door when my mom walks in. I didn't know she was even in here until she cleared her throat.

"Uh, Gabe, honey? Is everything okay?" she asks, slightly confused. I finally break focus on the door and turn to face her.

"Uh, yeah...why?"

"Well, you were kinda looking at the door for a little while."

"Oh."

"Anyway, how did it go with Jo?" she asks. My eyes grow wide.

"What? Great, fine, everything was fine. We just worked on the project, nothing else, stop pressuring me, okay? Nothing happened. Why would you think something happened? We were just working on the project, nothing else, just our science fair project, so stop questioning me, okay?" I ramble nervously, trying to cover up anything. Then I run upstairs to my room.

* * *

No One's POV

* * *

"Okay..." Amy Duncan said, confused on what had just happened. Her son had been acting weirdly ever since he and Lauren broke up, and has been acting even weirder since Jo returned. Had something happened that she wasn't being told about? A horrible thought came to mind.

Has she been bullying Gabe again?

No, she wouldn't. They were friends now, right?

But she had beaten up Gabe when they were friends. In fact, she had beaten him up because Jo wanted them as friends, maybe even more than friends.

Would she bully him again?

He didn't have a black eye, or a busted lip, or a dislocated shoulder or any broken bones, which was how Jo beat him up before.

Maybe she wasn't bullying him again.

Or, maybe she was. Gabe sure was acting stranger than usual.

But it wasn't the same as when he was being bullied. And beside, we was fifteen-almost sixteen-now, he could fend for himself, sort of. Hopefully... Maybe?

But this was Jo she was talking abut here. Not an ordinary bully. She wanted to get close to Gabe by beating him up.

She bullied Gabe because she liked him.

And Gabe had liked her, even if he was getting bullied.

Jo liked Gabe.

Gabe liked Jo.

They were eleven, though, and the most they could do was punch each other and play video games.

But they were fifteen now...

And Gabe had been acting super weird when she got home.

He was staring at the front door, where his partner probably left.

And, when she asked how it was going with Jo, he flipped out, and kept repeating that the only thing they were doing was working on their project.

Two kids, might she remind herself that it was Jo and Gabe, only working on a project. Seemed very unlikely.

Last time they worked on a project, they didn't focus well, because they were friends, and also they weren't the most studious kids ever.

They hated working together.

So, Gabe and Jo working diligently on a project together was definitely not what happened.

Bu why would he lie about something like that? Amy froze. She was starting to put the pieces together. Finally, she came up with something that just had to be the answer:

Gabe still liked Jo, and she was pretty sure Jo still liked him.

Gabe just got over a breakup from his old relationship with Lauren, making him available.

And Jo didn't know anyone here, and she certainly didn't have a boyfriend in Arizona, Amy could just tell.

Gabe-Single.

Jo-Single.

Working together on a project, alone, on a Friday night. Amy gasped. She opened up the computer that was sitting on the coffee table and began to video chat Teddy. Teddy answered the call.

"Mom? What are you doing? Is this about seeing what you look like on video chats again? Because you look fine-"

"Oh Teddy! You won't believe what happened! Guess who came back to Denver?"

"Uh, the mayor?" Teddy tried, she had absolutely no idea what her mother talking about. She took a sip out of her mug.

"Jo Keener!"

Teddy spit out her water. "What? That bully is back in Denver? Did she hurt Gabe? Because if she did, she better know that I'm coming after her-"

"No, Teddy, I don't think she is."

"When did she come back to Denver?"

"The day after you headed back to Yale. Anyway, she and Gabe got assigned a project together, and they were alone here working tonight-"

"Did they make another exploding volcano and destroy the living room again?"

"No-"

"Did they blow up another room some other way?"

"No-"

"Did they destroy my room?"

"No-"

"Did they-"

"Teddy! Will you stop and please listen to me?" Amy practically yells at Teddy. Teddy shuts her mouth quickly. Even though she was miles and miles away from her mom, she was still terrified if her. "Now, tell me, what do you think two fifteen year olds were doing when they were alone, on a Friday? Gabe said they were only working on their project, but this is Gabe and Jo we're talking about here, and can you really believe that that was _all_ they were doing?"

"Not for a second."

"Exactly!"

"So what, mom, do you think they were doing?"

"Well, Gabe just broke up with Lauren, and Jo is obviously single, so I thought-"

"They might be dating?!" Teddy gasped.

"Oh, no no no! How could you ever think that?" Amy said. Teddy rolled her eyes at her mother. When Gabe and Jo were younger, that really liked each other. Maybe, since they were older and more mature now, they were doing something about it. "Teddy, I think they were hatching a plan on how to get revenge on Lauren Dabney!"

"But, Gabe already got his revenge, remember?"

"Teddy, you and I both know well enough that one payback is NEVER enough for Gabriel Duncan." Teddy nodded her head in agreement with Amy. "And having his old nemesis, bully, and 'friend' back could help him pull off something truly diabolical."

"Now that your saying that, it makes perfect sense! But, what could they possibly be planning?"

"I don't know, we never knew Gabe's schemes until they were done. I'll keep you updated in case I find something out. Until then, goodbye Teddy! Love you!"

"Love you too M-" Amy shut the laptop before Teddy could even finish. All of this thinking was making her tired. She went upstairs, but paused in front of Gabe's room. The door was shut, and there was no noise coming from the inside.

 _"How strange," she thought, "Gabe is never this quiet. He must really be planning something evil."_

She walked by the door and went into her bedroom, trying to figure out what her son and his bully were up to.


	11. Chapter 11

Gabe's POV

* * *

I sit in my room, hands in my hair, looking down at the floor.

 _What did I just do?_

 _What did we just do?_

I can't believe it. I've done it again. I'm falling for someone, and not just anyone: Jo! Of all people! Why did I let myself do this?

 _Stupid, Gabe, STUPID!_

 _No wonder Jo called me that. I really am Stupid!_

Oh well. I open up my laptop and start the report. I finish and revise it after a long time.

 _Should I send it to Jo?_

 _No! She probably hates you now!_ I argue with myself.

I decide not to. I print it out and leave it on my computer. At least I don't have to see Jo until Monday. I have two days until I get my pounding.

* * *

Monday

* * *

I rush into school, carrying our project and paper in my hands. I pass Lauren in the hallway.

"Dick." she says to me.

"Whore." I say back.

I turn the corner to get to my locker and I'm surprised to see Jo standing there. She looks up at me.

"Hey Stupid..." she says quietly.

"Hey Jo." We just look at each other for a while. I finally break her gaze. "Look, I'm sorry about the paper, but I have it right here, and I'm also sorry about the whole, uh, well, you know, the-"

"The kiss? It's okay." she says, but I wasn't listening. I had gone over this scene a hundred times in my head. I already closed my eyes and pulled my arms to my chest to protect myself.

"I said I was sorry! Please don't hurt, I really-what?" I open my eyes and lower my hands.

"Yeah, it's okay Gabe." she says, stepping closer. "In fact, I actually, kinda liked it." Now this time she was the one to close her eyes and prepare for a beating.

"You, you, you liked it?" I ask, flabbergasted. Jo opens her eyes.

"Uh...yeah?" She looks down at the floor. I am so confused.

She didn't beat me up.

She said it was okay.

And now she says she liked it?

I feel something inside me. The same feeling I got when Lauren agreed to be my girlfriend-WAIT! GABE! YOU'RE LOSING IT! STAY STRONG GABE, FIGHT IT!

But I can't. I'm too happy.

"Good." I say. She looks up at me. "Cuz I did too." Her smile gets so wide I'm afraid she's going to stretch out her cheeks so much that they'll tear. The bell rings. We hurriedly grab our things and our project, running to class.

* * *

"And that concludes our project." I finish our report. The class claps, not really interested, but the teacher is into it, and give us an approving smile. I look at Jo and she looks at me. Even though we hate each other, but like each other, kinda, we do make a good team.

* * *

The rest of the school day goes by uneventful. Jo and I are walking through the halls, getting ready to leave. I turn the dreaded corner where Lauren's locker is, since this is the only way out of the school. Lauren sees us and steps in front of us.

* * *

Jo's POV

* * *

That Lauren girl steps in front of me and Gabe we are leaving. We try to step away from her but she gets in our way.

"Uh, excuse us, we're trying to get through." I say impatiently.

"But Joanna, I wanted to talk to you two." she says unnervingly sweetly.

"It's Jo-" I start but she silences me.

"Whatever." She turns away from me and turns towards Gabe, who looks super pissed off. "Gabe, can I ask you something?"

"You just did." he replies smartly, a smile on his face. I stifle a laugh at Lauren's face. She looked shocked, an then looked annoyed. She rolls her eyes. Gabe looks pissed again.

"Gabriel, why did Jo come running out of your house Friday?"

"She had to get home." Gabe lies.

"Yeah right."

"She had a curfew, and she was running late." Gabe continues. He's a good liar. I mean, I believe him, and that's not at all what happened!

"Since when do you care about curfews?"

"Since when do you spy on me?" Oh...BURN!

"Gabriel! This isn't funny! You're so pathetic! No wonder this small, little girl was your bully." I feel anger rising inside of me. I clench and unclench my fists.

"I wouldn't say that if I were you, you don't know what she's capable of." Gabe tries to help Lauren, but I don't think she's gonna listen.

"She was capable of taking down you, which, if I may say, isn't hard at all."

"Lauren-"

"She's just like you Gabriel. Weak, puny, pathetic, she probably can't hurt a fly with those tiny hands." My fists tighten. I don't try to unclench them anymore.

"Lauren, listen-"

"No wonder she hangs out with losers like you. She is one. A tiny, little, weak, pathetic little loser, who needs someone bigger than her to even carry her backpack." She looks straight at me. "You are a loser, Jo, whatcha gonna do about it? Cry? Break under pressure? Pfft...a ladybug is tougher than you."

"That's it!" I yell. I lunge at her, my fists of fury working their 'magic.' I punch and kick and hit her in everyway possible. "Who's" I punch her in her stomach and she groans. "Weak" I slam her into the lockers and she cries in pain, sinking to the ground. "Now?" I stomp on her nose. She screams in pain, blood gushing out of her nose. You could here the crack f the bone in her nose. I lunge at her again but a bunch of people grab me by my arms. I flip one or two of them, and I'm trying to get out of the others' grips when the principal runs into the hallway.

"What in the world?" She cries. She runs to Lauren, who is just a bloody, blubbering mess on the ground. "Lauren, honey, speak to me, are you okay?" She helps Lauren stand up. Lauren clutches at her broken nose. "Come on dear, let's go get you cleaned up." She turns to the group of people holding me. "All of you, come with me." We follow her into the office. The nurse goes straight to work on Lauren. "So, Lauren dear, do you mind telling me what happened?" Lauren holds a wad of cloth up to her nose, soaking it with blood.

"Oh Principal Smith! Joanna Keener beat me up for no reason! Ow! I was just standing at my locker and she starts hitting me! She's such a bully!" Lauren lies. The principal turns to me.

"Principal Smith, she's lying! She was the one bullying me! I was just-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Principal Smith snaps. "Joanna, stay, the rest of you, leave, now." The rest f the group leaves, leaving Lauren, Mrs. Smith, and me. We walk into her office. She motions for me to sit, which I do. "Joanna, I can't believe you! Beating up a student like this! This is unacceptable!"

"But Principal Smith, I was defending myself! She was bullying me!" I defend myself.

"Why were you defending yourself? Was she hitting you?"

"No."

"Attacking you in any way?"

"Not really."

"Then why did you beat her up?"

"She was picking fun at me and my friend, and I wasn't going to stand for it."

"Principal Smith, I would never do that, you know me too well. Does that sound like something I would do?" Lauren asks, forming fake tears in her eyes. "Oh Mrs. Smith! I don't know why people are always after me! Beating me up, calling me names, I just lost my boyfriend, I'm a total wreck, and now this?" Lauren sobs loudly, fake tears spilling out of her eyes. Principal Smith puts her arm around her.

"It's okay, honey, It's okay. Don't worry, I'll take care of this. You just hurry on home and rest up, okay?" Mrs. Smith comforts her. Lauren nods, looing at the ground. "Okay good. Bye bye Lauren, heal up!" Principal Smith says, searching through a file cabinet behind her desk. She has no idea what's going on behind her. She can't see us at all.

"Oh, I will Mrs. Smith, thank you." She acts. On her way out, she looks at me. She laughs quietly. "See ya around, sucker." She giggles again softly and exits the room. Principal Smith turns back to me. She sits at her desk and drops a vanilla folder on it. She flips pages through it.

"Mrs. Smith, you believe for a second that I just-"

"Joanna, I don't want to hear it."

"But-"

"But it seems you have a track record of beating up several kids, especially at Lincoln. Several injuries recorded to several classmates: Jake, Kit, Gabe...oh, many recorded incidents with him. Wasn't he Lauren's boyfriend?"

"Yes, but-"

"I see. Joanna, you have broken so many rules, I don't know what to do. It says here that you broke out of detention several times, and detention is way to weak of a punishment for the cruel way you treated Lauren."

"Mrs. Smith, I-"

"Quiet Joanna! I will not tolerate this. You are hereby suspended from school for two weeks, and you are allowed no where near the Dabney's home. You will also be getting phone call from me to schedule a meeting with your parents for therapy lessons until you can control your anger."

"Principal Smith, you can't possibly-"

"No Joanna, I thought you would fit in great here, but obviously that's not the case. If I hear of anything that concerns you hurting another student again, I will expel you permanently, and won't be able to step foot on this property again, do you understand?"

"Yes Principal Smith, but please hear me out. I've changed since my Lincoln days, I would never beat someone up for no reason. Ask around! Lauren aggravated me, and I was trying to defend not only myself, but a friend in need. Can't you see that?"

"I can see that you broke Lauren's nose, pride, and numerous school rules. Take this suspension slip home, and explain to your parents what you did. Now go, I don't want to hear about anymore violence, are we clear?" I nod. "Good. See you in two weeks, Joanna." I stand up, picking up the pink sheet of paper, and open the door to exit. I pause before leaving though.

"By the way, it's Jo." I say matter-of-factually, before slamming the door shut. I storm through the office, in a bad mood. Then I notice Gabe sitting in a chair in front of the front desk. When he sees me, he stands up and we exit the building. He glances down at the piece of paper I'm holding.

"What's that?" He asks.

"A suspension slip." I answer, not looking at him or the paper, just looking straight out.

"You got suspended?" He gasps.

"Yeah, for two weeks. AND, Principal Jerk-face is making a meeting with my parents to arrange for me to have anger management classes."

"Whoa." We walk in silence until we reach my house. I turn to Gabe before going up the front walk though.

"Hey, Gabe, why did you wait for me?" He looks up at me.

"Oh, uh, I just, you know, I kinda felt responsible for what happened, and I thought maybe I could make to up to you. I guess what I'm trying to say is, uh..., would you consider maybe, hanging out with me sometime, you know, as more than just project partners?"

"Gabriel Stupid Duncan, you've gone soft, way soft..." I say. He hangs his head, turning away. I lean up and peck him on the cheek. He turns quickly. "But...yes, I will, considering if I survive my parents." He smiles.

"Well, I guess I'll see you once you're out of prison. See ya later, Jo."

"Later Stupid." I walk up to my house and open the door, already anticipating the punishment. Well, I got to face this sooner or later, I wish it could be later though.


End file.
